The Prodigal Mother
by BlackWindButterfly
Summary: Lovino and Margherita Vargas have lived most of their lives in the castle of Österreich without any interference from the mother who left them there. However, after all these years, Viatrix has come to check up on her children. Human AU. GerFemIta/SpaMano
1. Chapter 1

**Please note that this is a spin-off from another story. References will be made to that previous story and it is suggested that for the full effect, you read the story that this one stems off from. This will also help in avoiding any confusion for you as the reader. The story this one stems off from is called "Kneeling at Your Feat". Again, while it does not need to be read, it is highly suggested and I would be appreciate it if you would.**

* * *

><p>The tray in her hand teetered as she absently approached the table. While her jewel toned amber eyes were focused on the two young ladies sitting at the table waiting for their tea, her mind was elsewhere. It was this that caused her leather shoes to snag against the rug. She fell forward and the tray flew through the air. The young maid slammed into the table, air rushing out of her lungs as two fine china tea cups landed on the lap of a lady with long honey brown hair. She slammed her green eyes shut as she winced, the heat searing through her long billowing skirts to the skin beneath it.<p>

"I'm sorry, __Signorina__!" the maid exclaimed despite her own situation. She brushed back her wayward curl of mahogany brown before tried to sit up, only to bump her head off the table. She sucked air in with a hiss before she backed up and then stood up to hurry and clean off her mistress's lap with a rag that she produced from her off-white apron.

"It's okay, Margherita," Elizabeta, the princess of another kingdom told her as she collected the tea cups before handing them back to the girl after she had finished with poorly soaking up the liquid. Nothing had been sorted out since the prince of Österreich had left. In fact, some people thought that they were lying about the whole ordeal and the prince had died down in the dungeons with his mother.

"Is something wrong?" the other girl with them inquired softly, not referring to the situation, but the more than usual clumsiness of Margherita. She could easily be distinguished by her short blonde hair with the pink ribbon tied in the front. Her name was Lilli and she was one of the prince's cousins.

"N-no." Margherita shook her head, waving her hands along with the rag that she still held.

The princess quirked a brow, not believe her for a second. She smirked lightly then as the tea cups and tray were set on the table. "Does this have something to do with Gilbert's brother, the blacksmith?" While she may have been royalty, Elizabeta did not leave herself out of the castle gossip.

Her face heated as the truth was revealed. Margherita had not spoken to Ludwig since they had kissed the night that he had gone off to help his brother. While he had come back later that evening when she had been asleep, he seemed to avoid her like the plague the morning after.

"I knew it." Elizabeta broke out into a grin. "Tell me what's wrong."

Licking her lips, Margherita decided that it could not be too bad to tell Elizabeta what was distracting her. It had been an order anyway, or perhaps a very persuasive suggestion, but regardless, she did not see the harm in it. "Ve, I haven't really had the chance to talk to him about anything…" she mumbled, eyes darting away then.

"Why didn't you just ask? Take the day off and go see him." Elizabeta winked.

"But-a, I can't!" the maid protested.

"Of course you can! If anyone asks, say that Vash has you running an errand and if he asks, say that I have you running one."

Margherita beamed before nodding. She could remember that, but she really hoped that she did not run into Vash. He might end up viciously interrogating her until she finally told him the truth. According to Lilli though, he was not quiet as commanding and strict as he seemed. Then again, she had assumed the same thing about Roderich for the longest time and he had proved her wrong.

* * *

><p>Peeking past the double doors of the workshop, a dark haired woman stared in to see the blacksmith working at his anvil as was usual. She turned to look back her companion, a black stallion before she took hold of his bridle to lead him inside. "<em>Scusi~<em>" she called as she sauntered in.

Ludwig paused, setting his hammer down on the anvil as he wiped the back of his arm across his forehead to stop any perspiration from falling into his eyes. "How can I help you?" he asked.

She smiled before tugging the shy creature in. The stallion took two steps forward before taking another back, hesitant to come any closer to the intimidating young man. Tugging on his bridle again, the woman led him further inside. She rested her head on his side then beautiful, brown, curling locks contrasting nicely against the black. Oddly familiar amber eyes stared at him as lengthy eyelashes fell over them with each bating of her eye. Her appearance nagged at him to make connections, but Ludwig could not remember where he had last seen a beauty that could rival the goddess, Aphrodite. "Would you mind-a shoeing my horse?"

Breaking from his train of thought, Ludwig nodded. He parted from his usual workstation to locate the tools that he would need and, more specifically, the horseshoes for the job. Collecting four of them and the small hammer that he would need to do it, he knelt down before grabbing hold of one of the horse's hooves. Again the horse stepped forward and back, uncomfortable with a stranger's touch. The woman soothed him as she sang softly under her breath, smoothing a hand against his fur as she did so.

"Luddy?" Margherita called as she stepped inside. She leaned to catch sight of him from where she stood before she realized that he was currently busy. The blacksmith did, however, glance up to spare her a glance.

"M-Margherita," he stuttered. A few more pieces fell into place as she stepped toward the horse he was working on. He busied himself with his work again, knowing that she could wait until he had finished.

The dark haired woman lifted her head up upon hearing the maid's name. She turned to stare at her and her eyes seemed to light up almost instantly. Without warning, she embraced her. "I thought I would never see you again~" she lilted in her thick Italian accent.

While usually affectionate, Margherita pushed away from the woman. She pouted almost instantly. "Don't you remember me?"

"Ah, no," Margherita answered with a shake of her head. She frowned before taking some time to glance at the woman. Her image tugged at the maid's memory, but every time she tried to focus, whatever was trying to elude her slipped through her fingers. In all honesty, the woman looked a great deal like an older version of herself.

Smiling sadly, the woman nodded. "No, I don't suppose you would…" She bounced back almost instantly though, beaming once again. "How is life in the castle? From what I-a remember it was huge!" As she spoke, she used wild hand gestures.

Margherita tilted her head to the side. How did the woman know that she worked in the castle? Sure, she wore what one might consider her uniform constantly, but one had never been designated among the staff. "Oh and how is your _fratello_?" the woman pressed.

Maybe that's how she knew, the maid reasons. If this woman knew her brother, than maybe he had mentioned her in conversation. "Ve, he's fine. So-a, what's your name?" she asked.

"Viatrix Vargas," the woman answered.

"You're all set," Ludwig called from below. This whole time he had been shifting around the horse so that he could shoe it. He stood up then.

"Ah,_ Grazie_~" Viatrix replied.

"Luddy?" Margherita tried, remembering why she had come in the first place. She wanted to talk to him, but apparently now was not the right time.

Ludwig frowned. "Margherita, can we… can we talk later, please?"

Her lips turned downward as well, but nevertheless, she nodded. "Okay," she agreed before walking off.

Viatrix pulled at the strap of the purse that was slung across her shoulder to rest on her thigh against her skirt made from animal thigh. She peeled back the flap before counting out the amount of money that she would need. It had been made standard throughout most of the kingdom, but she had other reasons for choosing this blacksmith. It had nothing to do with his fame either; the closer she was to the castle, the closer she was to her children. She dropped the money in his outstretched palm, recounting them as they fell.

"You're her mother… aren't you?" Ludwig asked softly as he turned a gold coin over in his hand.

"_Si~_ But-a, how did you know?" she asked.

"She looks just like you… und she talks about you often vithout realizing it," he explained.

"Oh." Her amber eyes widened. She had not thought that her little girl would remember her, not when one took into account how long ago they had last seen each other. Pride overtook her though and she winked. "And-a I'm sure she takes after her Mama. She seems to have you pretty charmed~"

Telltale pink rose to Ludwig's cheeks. He swallowed against the lump in his throat, trying to regain his composure in order to seem professional. "I-I…"

Viatrix laughed, a rich sound full of years of mirth. "Don't worry, I have-a bigger things to tell her. Later though, maybe," she teased. Wrapping her horse's reins around her hand, she started to walk out with the horse following. "Thank you again. It's-a nice to see that she has-a someone."

* * *

><p>"Lovi, please," a woman with black hair pulled back into a bun begged. She clung to his arm with her own olive tanned ones and she willed her emerald eyes to grow in size.<p>

Lovino snapped his head around to glare at her. He jerked his arm away from her yet she still held on. Dammit, she was strong. "Let go of me, bitch," he growled.

Now, if anyone else had called her that, Isabel would have left them alone, but when it came to her "little tomato" she knew better. He tended to curse often, but if one could see past all of that, he was positively adorable. Anymore, she considered that more of a pet name for herself. "_Por favor_?"

"Fuck no!" Lovino snapped. He had fallen for those words too many times. There would be no way that he would cave in now. He was not going to go on some stupid walk with her through the garden that _she _was supposed to be caring for at the moment.

"Lovi!" two voices chorused their tones different as one was pleading while the other was merely a shout for attention. Both Isabel and Lovino turned to see who the other voice belonged to. His little sister was running toward them.

"Oh, Ciao, Isabel~" Margherita greeted.

"Hola, Daisy~" she replied, using the girl's nickname over her full one. None of the staff really addressed her as such.

"What the hell do you want?" Lovino growled at her. While there were times when he would limit his swearing in front of his sister, today was not one of those days.

"I just wanted to say hello," Margherita explained. She heard her brother growl again as he clearly did not appreciate the interruption, not that she had really interrupted anything. Perhaps he was more so upset that she added to the chaos going on around him. Thinking that he wanted her to say something though, she added. "Do-a you know someone named Viatrix?" she asked.

His brows drew together and he tensed underneath Isabel. She frowned, now curious as to what had him worried. "Where did you hear about her?" he asked.

"I saw her at Ludwig's today," Margherita answered simply. "Why? What's wrong, _fratello_?"

"You what?" Lovino shouted. "What do you mean you saw her today? What did she say?"

"S-she just asked if I knew who she was…"

"Chigi," he growled. Yanking his arm out of Isabel's grip, he stormed off through the kitchen door to cut through the garden.

Both women chased after him, Isabel making it to him first with Margherita at her heels. "What is it, mi tomate?" she asked, concerned now. She had never seen him quite so worked up about something like this. "Who is she?"

"Our bitch of a mother."

Margherita froze, eyes widening. She caught her brother's arm then. "What?" she whispered.

He jerked his head away from her, unable to watch as the tears beaded in her eyes. Lovino could never bring himself to watch anyone cry. "Viatrix Vargas is our mother." His voice never rose above hers.

The maid bit her lip before sniffling. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked. "I had a right to know." She sounded betrayed and Lovino tensed again. He knew when his sister needed to be avoided and since it seemed like her temper was starting to rise, now seemed to be one of those times. After going without an answer, Margherita broke away from her brother before running off to return to the blacksmith's again.

"Where are you going?" Lovino shouted after her.

"To talk to Mama!" Margherita shouted back before disappearing behind the neatly trimmed hedges.

* * *

><p>Translation Notes:<p>

__Signorina - __Miss

__Scusi - __Excuse me

___fratello - ___brother

__Grazie - __Thank you

___Si - ___Yes

____Por favor -____ Please

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Here is the other second place winner. This spin-off will be a mixture of GerIta and SpaMano, but it will likely focus heavily on GerIta. Because of my planned plot, the pairings fit together well enough to work within one story.

I have made one or two references to Lovino and Margherita's mother before and now here she is. Viatrix Vargas is meant to be a Fem!Rome. I was going to bring Rome in as he normally is, but it made much more sense to have him be a woman and fit the role as their mother. Oh well, he's still just as cool in my opinion. In the next chapter, it is likely that I will be explaining exactly why Lovino and Margherita have not seen her and why it is that they live in the castle.

I cannot give a set amount on how many chapter this spin-off will be. It will all depend on how the story develops. Thank you all for reading. I hope to start on the next chapter soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Her callused hands clasped onto one of the open doors of the barn like forge. She came forward before jerking back with the sudden loss of momentum. Margherita panted and huffed in an attempt to restore the air to her lungs, all the while using the door for support. A chorus of barks mashed against the sounds of the busy blacksmith either in greeting or to alert their master of her arrival. Ludwig lifted his head up, frowning as he surveyed her current state. Exhaustion, frustration – she wore them both plain as day on her face, yet he could scarcely think as to why at least until she began to question him.

"Luddy," she started, voice quivering with emotion more so than lack of oxygen. "Did you see where-a my mama went?"

He should have known she would come searching when she found out. However, he lacked the answer she sought. Viatrix spoke of finding her daughter, yet she failed to state if she would enter the castle. Ludwig shook his head.

"Anything?" Margherita pleaded. Her mother may not have given him a location, but any detail would have been enough for her, even a vague direction. Viatrix could not have gotten far.

Despite knowing a few miniscule details, Ludwig revealed nothing. He sighed before tidying his station up, placing his tools as they should be and storing away his materials. "What are you doing?" the maid asked, his silence having confused her.

"Coming with you," Ludwig answered. He owed it to her after all she had done for him and his brother.

A small smile crept onto her face. "Grazie, Luddy. Two heads are-a better than one, right?"

"Ja," he agreed. At least that was how the saying went at any rate.

"You stay the fuck out of this," Lovino growled as he stormed into the workshop. Isabel jogged behind him before stopping in the doorway. She frowned, sending her sympathy to Ludwig as best she could while the Italian raged.

"Lovi, he just wants to help," she tried.

Lovino took an aggressive step forward, advancing on Ludwig. "Yeah, that's all he and his bastard of a brother want to do. Last time it almost got my little sister killed. Did either of you think about that? No. Besides, she can do that on her own. This is between us and that bitch. Keep your big ass nose out of it and your goddamn help to yourself. In fact, if you want to help, you can go jump of the nearest cliff and take Viatrix with you," he ranted.

"Lovi, please," Margherita pleaded.

"No! You need to stay the fuck away from her and while you're at it, stay away from this potato bastard too. They can both go to hell for all I care," he growled. He had no sympathy either, even though one lacked reasoning, unless he really did think Ludwig was that terrible of an influence on his scatterbrained sister.

While Ludwig remained calm, inhaling and opening his mouth only so that he could calmly reply, Margherita stepped between them, actually taking the moment to shove her brother backward. He stumbled nearly falling to his rear. She was the stronger out of the two of them, not that he would ever admit it.

"Don't say that!" she shouted at him. Her voice quivered again and she seemed prepared to cry, yet her clenched fists said that if Lovino pursued this conversation, she would not withhold from lashing out at him. "You can't really mean any of it," Margherita continued, hoping in her heart that it was true. He at least couldn't hate their mother, she was family after all.

"I do! She left us here to die, Margherita, left her own children so that she could run off after stealing from the castle. The only reason we even live here is to pay off her debt."

The brunette shook her head, refusing to believe any of it. No one would leave their own flesh and blood behind to pay their debts. Viatrix had to have more reason than that, there had to be something more to the story.

Seeing how stubborn his sister was being, Lovino continued to batter her with words in attempt to make her see reason. She argued with him in their native tongue, forcing Isabel and Ludwig to guess what they were saying. Each time Lovino shouted back, more tears threatened to fall until finally, they did. Margherita sniffled rubbing her eyes with sleeves that threatened to swallow her hands. A sob escaped her before she ran off again, not saying a word.

Lovino grunted. "Serves her right," he grumbled as he crossed his arms.

An icy glare forced a shiver to travel up his spine. He sent one of his own, but only to the blacksmith's back as he passed. His strides were wide, enough so that if he kept going at his current pace, he would eventually catch up with Margherita.

"Lovino," Isabel chided him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, placing her hands over his as she set her chin to his shoulder. "You should have let her find out on her own, then again, you probably just gave her more of a reason to find your mother, but still, you shouldn't have made your _hermana _cry. It's mean."

"So?" Lovino slanted his lips, turning his head deliberately away from the side she was resting on.

"So, you should go apologize," she continued, now speaking in his ear. "And then let her do what she wants, she's a big girl, _mi tomate_."

"I'll do it later…." It may not have been the best answer, but it did earn Isabel's approval. She grinned before pressing a kiss to his cheek, releasing him then. His face lit up to a bright crimson before he muttered, "Chigi."

* * *

><p>The glass rested against her lip as she tilted her head back, eyes falling shut as she chugged the sweet mind numbing liquid. She cracked a grin then as she set the glass back down on the table with a clatter. Viatrix pulled the corners of her lips upward, appearing like a charming vixen as she hummed lightly. Her eyes scanned the tavern, pausing to give her a minute or two to process everything. "Another glass, please~" she told the bartender as her eyes rested on him again.<p>

He gave her a small nod before he refilled the glass with the red liquid that had composed her last drink. Leaving him little time to blink, she finished it off easily. One of the patrons rose though before sitting beside her. She sent him a charming smile and a sweet wave. "Hey there," she greeted him, that same song like quality in her tone.

Their conversation was casual, but incredibly laced with alcohol. Little help was added as they both finished off more than their fair share of drinks within that short period of time. However, Viatrix had better things to do than spend a night in the company of the fine gentleman who had struck her up for a conversation. He had other plans though.

A hand slithered toward her rear and before he had any hope of groping him, he had been knocked flat off his seat by the same woman he had sought. He set a hand to his jaw before spitting, a colorful splatter hitting the dirt floor. "Bitch," he hissed at her.

Viatrix squeaked then, bolting off her own seat as he rose to his. The stool she had been perched on stumbled back and hit the ground a second after the gentleman. He rose to his feet, using his stool to prop himself up before he extended his palm, preparing to return the blow. She caught his hand in time though.

Ludwig watched from the doorway, rather astounded that she possessed that amount of strength and reflex while under the influence. It explained who her daughter had inherited her strength from at any rate. He saw it as his moment to step forward though. A strong bone breaking grip came to wrap around the gentleman's shoulder. He hissed before glancing at Ludwig. "_Mach nicht_," he warned.

With a wince, the man jerked himself out of the blonde's grip with another hiss of German before he retreated, knowing better than to tango with a man twice his size in height and muscle mass. Viatrix stared up at Ludwig with a small smile. "Do you do this for all of us Italian woman or just me~?" she teased. Ludwig flushed before shaking his head. "No, I guess not. What can I do you for?"

"Margherita is looking for you… she wants to know vhy she hasn't seen you after all zis time," Ludwig explained.

The Italian woman sighed before flopping down, forgetting about her absence of a stool. She whined upon hitting the ground. "Ow," she pouted. Ludwig offered her a hand. "Grazie… So where is-a my little girl?" she asked. "And what-a has her brother told her?"

He stayed silent for a moment to examine Viatrix once again. He wanted to believe that she had every intention in searching for her daughter, but the location that he found her at suggested otherwise. It suggested the idea of running away from a problem, something he knew all too well.

"You should ask her yourself," he told her. "She's back at ze castle."

Viatrix nodded languidly, suggesting that she was not so much agreeing to go, more that she was close to passing out then and there. Ludwig sighed before letting her wrap an arm around his shoulders so that he could lead her out of the tavern. He supposed he could offer her board for the evening, after all, it would make it easier for Margherita to find her the next day and he had the room since his brother often stayed with him when he wished to escape the duties given to him when he had been a squire.

Although, he wanted to be there when mother and daughter finally spoke. Ludwig had developed an interest in the woman's past as well.

* * *

><p>Translation Notes:<p>

_hermana - _sister

__mi tomate_ - _my tomato

__Mach nicht_ - _Don't

__Grazie_ - _Thank you

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

I am so sorry it took me this long to update. I guess I had hit one of those periods where I couldn't write anything. I would like to say that I'm back for good now, but I'm not exactly sure. Anyway, I do hope that this chapter was worth the weight.

I would like to say that my favorite scene is probably the argument between Lovino and Margherita. Compared to her male counterpart, Margherita is much braver and not a cry baby, or at least not without a good reason. She's also supposed to be incredibly strong when angered so it isn't too surprising that she's probably stronger than Lovino, but most definitely below Ludwig at any rate.

I was glad to be able to write for Viatrix again too. I really love Rome and that doesn't change even when he's female. His name was even picked for his personality as Viatrix means wanderer. I hope to reveal more about the circumstances around her and her children in the next chapter though so stay tuned.


End file.
